Who is the best bet to take over Gerrard as Liverpool captain?

It seems that Steven Gerrard’s announcement that he would leave top four chances Liverpool (5/1) at the end of the season for LA Galaxy has had no ill effect on the Merseyside club. They have faced two away games since, winning them both, and Brendan Rodgers will take confidence from that.

But the Northern Irishman will be thinking ahead of next season, as to whom he will take on the mantle as next permanent captain. Gerrard has skippered the Reds, after taking over from Sami Hyypia, for over a decade now, and Rodgers will need to make a wise choice.

Here is our list of potential candidates to replace the Liverpool legend…

Jordan Henderson – 4/9 to be next Liverpool captainDespite Henderson being relatively young at 24, he’ll be 25 in the summer, and is the lead candidate for the position. Gerrard was 23 when he first received the captain’s armband, and the former Sunderland skipper could be the ideal long-term replacement.

Henderson had an inconsistent start to his Liverpool career, but has grown in confidence and ability and is the current vice-captain. Rodgers has already hinted he will name the versatile midfielder as skipper, so pile your money on before the odds get even shorter.

Martin Skrtel – 4/1Another strong candidate, though, is centre back rock Skrtel. The Slovakian has been at the club since 2008 and, like Henderson, has overcome a bad spell the win the passionate Anfield over.

Skrtel already has experience captaining a team, as he is captain of his country, and certainly wouldn’t be a bad appointment. He would be only the second non-British Isles playr to be awarded the role, but it certainly worked with Manchester United appointing another Eastern European centre back, Nemanja Vidic.

Dejan Lovren – 7/1Lovren is another leader on the pitch, and was a key part of Southampton’s successful defence last season, which earned him his big-money move to Liverpool in the summer. The Croatian has had a shaky start to his Reds career, but can take heart in Henderson and Skrtel’s battle against bad form too.

Raheem Sterling – 20/1Future superstar Sterling has barely turned 20, but is already one of Liverpool’s key players. The Jamaican-born attacker perhaps doesn’t possess the best leadership skills and is certainly the outsider from this list of four for the position, but offering him the captaincy could wave off suitors such as Real Madrid.